Earth boring machine



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T. cv. SMITH 2,421,970

EARTH BORING MACHINE Filed July 11, 1944 5 sheets-sheet s INVENTOR B ZY C. Smbt//U A TTORNE Y T. C. SMITH June 1o, 1947.

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ATTORNEY June 1o, 1947. T C, SMWH l 2,421,970

EARTH BORING MACHINE Filed July 1l, 1944 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented June 10, "i947 2,421,970 EARTH BORING MACHINE Temple C. Smith,

American Telephone and a corporation of New York Application July 11, 1944, Serial No. 544,344

(Cl. Z55-22) 4 Claims.

rlhis invention relates to earth boring apparatus and, more particularly, to arrangements of this character which are of the portable power-driven typ-e adapted for boring holes i-n which to set poles.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a motor-driven earth auger adapted to be mounted on a motor vehicle, and so positioned that the operating apparatus therefor may be coupled to the engine shaft or power take-oir of the vehicle7 whereby the apparatus may be operated by power derived from the engine.

Another object of the ating the auger will be reduced to a minimum.

A further object of the invention is to provide an arrangement whereby, when the auger is rapidly raised to discharge the earth resulting from the boring operation, before the auger can strike the boring head a mechanism comes into play to automatically stop the upward travel of the auger and start it spinning, thereby throwing onc the dirt.

These and further objects will be apparent from the following detailed description of the apparatus when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings which illustrate an embodiment of the improved invention.

In.the drawings, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout, the following gures appear:

Figure 1 is a plan View of the apparatus as seen from above;

Fig. 2 is a side View or the apparatus;

Fig. 3 is an end view partly in section, of the boring head which includes feeding and driving mechanism for operating the auger;

Fig. 4 is a perspective View, broken away in part, showing the gearing arrangement for rotating, raising or lowering the auger;

Fig 5 is a plan View of the apparatus of Fig. 3, partly broken away to show the gearing and other interior mechanism;

Fig. 6 is a side view of the lever mechanism shown in Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a cross-section taken at the line 'I-1 of Fig. 5 to furnish an end view of the operating lever mechanism;

Fig. 8 is a side view of the power feed, and associated clutch and brake mechanism partly broken away to show interior parts;

Fig. 9 is a cross-section taken at the line 9-9 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a cross-section taken at the line lill (l of Fig. 8;

-mitting the feeding and Fig. l1 is a detail showing the telescopic arrangement of the push rod for operating the drive clutch and associated brake mechanism, and

Fig. l2 is a schematic View to show the principle of operation of the mechanism in as simple a manner as possible.

The boring apparatus shown on the accompanying drawings, as will be presently described in detail, is adapted to be suitably mounted upon a truck or other type of motor vehicle and operated by the truck engine through a changeable speed transmission which is not illustrated. The boring apparatus functions to dig holes in which poles, or the like, are to be positioned. For this purpose a boring head is provided which includes mechanism for raising or lowering the auger, and for causing it to rotate at the will of an operator.

General description of apparatus Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 which show the general exterior appearance of the mechanism, the auger 26 is carried upon a square shaft 'I which may be rotated, and raised or lowered, by means of suitable mechanism contained within the boring head housing 5. Attached to the housing 5 is an auxiliary casing I3 in which are housed certain beveled gears which play a part in transdriving power to the auger. These gears are driven by means of concentric shafts (to be described later) which are mounted within a tubular casing 39, and both gears rotate in the same direction, one to transmit feeding power and the other to transmit driving power. The casing 39 is attached at one end to a branch I3 extending at a right angle from the casing I3 already described. At its other end the casing 39 terminates in an end member 40 which is attached to a housing 4|, containing the clutch and brake mechanism for controlling the driving and feeding operations. A shaft 48 from the power take-01T is connected to the clutch and brake mechanism through gearing contained in an arm 48 of the housing 48.

In order to control the clutch and brake mechanism to be described later, a feed lever and a drive lever 66 are provided, these levers being suitably mounted on the sides of the tubular casing 39 as shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7. The feed lever 65 is mounted on an arm 6| which is connected by means of a bifurcated link 51 and a push rod 5l to operate a double-ended lever 53 and 53 for controlling the drive clutch and drive brake, as will be described later. The arrangement is such that when the feed lever 65 is pulled to the right (see Figs, 1 and 2) the feed clutch is actuated, but when pushed to the left the feed brake is operated.

In a similar manner the drive lever 66 is mounted on an arm 52 connected by means of a bifurcated link 58 and a push rod 58 to operate a double-ended lever 54 and 54 for controlling the drive clutch and drive brake. Here also, the mechanism is so arranged that when the drive lever 6G in Figs. 1 and 2 is pulled to the right the drive clutch is actuated and when pushed to the left the drive brake is operated. As will be described in more detail later, the telescoping arrangement shown at 83 (Figs. l, 2, 5J 6 and l2) is introduced in the push rod 58', and is controlled by a remote control cable 'I4 to automatically stop the upward travel of the auger 26 and cause the auger to spin and thus throw off dirt.

Principle of operation of mechanism Before describing in detail the apparatus above referred to, it is desirable to have a general picture of the underlying principles of the various mechanisms and their mode of operation. To this end reference is 'made to Fig. l2 which shows a schematic layout of the apparatus. In this figure it will be observed that there are two main gears II and I2 within the housing 5. These gears will be hereinafter referred to, respectively, as the feed and drive gears. Both of these gears when operated always turn in the same direction, because they are connected in substantially the same manner to the common power take-off which drives them.

The power take-off acts through gears Il and d6 to a gear 44 which rotates always in the direction indicated by the arrow except when it is desired to reverse the direction of rotation of the auger. This gear normally rotates freely without turning either of the shafts 3l' or 33. The shafts El and 38 are concentrically arranged so that they rotate in the same direction on the same axis, the direction of rotation being indicated by the looped arrows a and b surrounding the two shafts. Shaft 3l is a drive shaft and shaft 38 is a feed shaft. At the upper ends of these shafts r beveled gears 3l and 38 are mounted, these beveled gears meshing with beveled gears 35 and 36 on the left-hand ends of two co-axial shafts 34' and 33', the former being a drive shaft and the latter a feed shaft. Beveled gears 33 and 313 are respectively mounted on the right-hand ends of the two co-aXial shafts 33 and 34 and mesh with the main feed gear I I and the main drive gear I2, as will be evident from the diagram.

By pulling the feed lever 65 in Fig. 12 in an upward direction, feed clutch 42 will be operated to couple the gear 44 with the feed shaftl 38. If the feed lever 65 is pushed downwardly the feed brake 42 comes into play to slow down or stop the feed shaft 38. Similarly, if the drive lever G6 is pulled upwardly the drive clutch d3 couples the gear d4 with the drive shaft 3l. By shifting the drive lever B6 downwardly the drive brake 43 may be used to slow down or stop the drive shaft 3l.

From the foregoing it is evident that either the drive shaft 31 or the feed shaft 38 may be coupled to be driven from the power take-off, either separately or both at the same time, depending upon whether the clutches 42 or 43, or both, are operated. It will also be evident that both the feed shaft and the drive shaft are turned in the same direction by the gear 45. By tracing through the various beveled gears and drive shafts to the main feed gear I I and drive gear I2, it will be seen that both of these gears when rotated turn in the same direction.

From a consideration of the feed gear II and the drive gear I2, it will be evident that the latter, by reason of the fact that it carries a housing or carrier 6 within which the square shaft 1 of the auger is mounted, will, when rotated, turn the shaft 'I and hence the auger 2G in the direction indicated by the looped arrow c. Rotation of the feed gear II, however, is without effect so far as rotating the shaft 'I is concerned, by reason of the fact that the gear II, while it surrounds the shaft l, rotates freely with respect thereto.

The feed gear I I functions in co-operation with the drive gear I2 to raise or lower the shaft 1 of the auger, depending upon the relative speeds of the gears II and I2. To this end a bracket IZa is mounted on the upper surface of the gear I2. This bracket carries a beveled gear ID which meshes with the feed gear II, as shown. Thus, when the feed gear II is driven in the direction indicated by the looped arrow d and drive gear I?. is stationary (or slower than II), feed gear II will drive the beveled gear I0 in a direction opposite that indicated by the vertical arrow thereon. The beveled gear I0 has affixed thereto a pinion gear I0 which meshes with a pinion gear S to drive the latter. Upon the same axis as thc gear 9 and affixed thereto, is another pinion gear 9 which meshes with a rack upon the shaft "I to drive the shaft 'I either upwardly or downwardly, depending upon the relative speeds of the feed gear II and the drive gear I2, as will presently appear.

The gearing arrangement, above described, is capable of (1) moving the auger 2G upwardly (preferably rapidly) without turning it; (2) moving the auger down slowly and at the same time rotating it; (3) moving the auger down rapidly and turning it; (4) permitting the auger to drop downwardly by gravity without turning, and (5) permitting the auger to be held stationary both with respect t0 rotation, and movement upward or downward, by a proper manipulation of the brakes and clutches.

For example, if the drive gear I2 is held stationary by applying the drive brake 43 to hold the drive shaft 31' stationary, and at the 4same time the feed gear II is rotated in the direction of the arrow d by the feed clutch 42, the beveled gear I0 will rotate in a direction opposite to that indicated by the vertical arrow appearing upon said gear. In other words, beveled gear II) and its associated pinion gear I0 will be rotated in a clockwise direction when viewed from the right of Fig. l2. This will cause the coupled pinions 9 and 9 to rotate in a counter-clockwise direction. Pinion 9 therefore operates the rack carried by the shaft 'I to drive shaft 'l upwardly. The speed at which the shaft is driven upwardly will depend upon the speed of the drive shaft 31 which, in turn, will depend upon whether the feed clutch 42 is fully applied or is allowed to slip. If the clutch is fully applied, of course, the shaft is driven upwardly at the highest possible speed, which in turn can be changed by operating the engine throttle.

If, on the other hand, both the feed clutch and the drive clutch are applied so that both shafts 31' and 38 are operated, the feed gear II and drive gear I2 will be rotated in the direction indicated by the respective looped arrows d and e. The design of the gearing is such that when both clutches 42 and 43 are fully applied, drive gear I2 rotates a little faster than feed gear II. The result is that the beveled gear I by meshing with the feed gear II is driven in a counter-clockwise direction as seen from the right of Fig. 12, i. e., in the direction indicated by the arrow appearing on the gear I. As a consequence, the gear 9 rotates in a clockwise direction as indicated by the vertical arrow appearing upon it, and therefore it drives the shaft 1 slowly downward. At the same time the drive gear I2 by its rotation causes the shaft 1 to turn. This enables the auger to be driven slowly downward as it bores into the earth.

If the feed brake 42 is applied to slow down or stop the feed gear II, and the drive clutch 43 is actuated, the drive gear I2 wil1 rotate very fast with respect 'to the feed gear II, thereby causing the beveled gear I0 to rotate in a counter-clockwise direction at high speed. The highest speed of the beveled gear IIJ` in a counter-clockwise direction is attained when the feed gear II is stationary and the drive gear l 2 rotates at full speed. The result is that the shaft 1 is driven downward rapidly and is rotated at the same time. Thus, by suitable manipulation of the feed brake 42 and the drive clutch 43, the boring auger may be rotated and driven downwardly at any desired speed depending upon the nature of the earth or other material being operated upon.

If the feed lever 65 and the drive lever 66 are both in neutral position so that neither the feed brake nor drive brake is applied, and neither the feed clutch nor the drive clutch is actuated, the shaft 1 and the auger 26 will not be rotated. However, the weight of the shaft and the auger will cause the auger to slowly drop by gravity. This action, Vof course, causes the rack on the shaft 1 to rotate the'pinion 9 slowly in a clockwise direction, thus causing the beveled gear I9 to slowly rotate the feed gear II in a, direction opposite to the looped arrow d. The feed gear I I operating through the beveled gear 33, shaft 33', beveled gear 36, beveled gear 38 and feed shaft 38', causes the latter to rotate in a direction opposite to that indicated by the looped arrow a. The inertia and friction of these Various gears, shafts and borings, of course, acts to retard the speed with which the squared shaft 1 drops by gravity.

If both the feed brake l42 and the drive brake 43 are applied, the feed gear I I and the drive gear I2 will be held stationary and the auger will neither rotate nor be fed upward or downward.

The foregoing operations are summarized in the following table:

Feed Resultant motion The boring head Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, the numeral 5 designates the main housing ofthe boring head. It serves as a Acasing for the gearing about to be described, and for a rotatable carrier or sleeve 6. A rack shaft or shank 1 is mounted in the carrier 6 in such a manner that it may be rotated with the carrier 6 when the carrier rotates or, if desired7 it may be moved either upwardly or Drive downwardly with respect to the-carrier. 'I'o permitof rotation the carrier Sis mounted in the housing 5 on roller bearings such as indicated at 8 and 8. `It serves to house, in addition to the rack shaft 1, spur gears 9 and 9'. These are enclosed within an auxiliary casing I5 forming a part of the carrier but mounted upon a disc or plate I4. The pinion gears 9 and 9' are arranged to rotate together upon'a common shaft 9s and for this purpose are preferably constructed as parts of a unitary structure, as shown particularly in Fig. 5.

beveled drive gear I2is mounted.

The pinion gear 9 is in mesh with the raclc on shaft 1, and its associated pinion 9 is in mesh with the pinion gear IIJ. The latter is integrally connected with a beveled spur gear I Il and is arranged to rotate therewith upon a common axle I fla. The axle Illa is mounted in the bracket Iza at one end, and in a portion of the casing I5 at the other end. The beveled gear IU is in mesh with the upper teeth of the double beveled feed gear II so as to be rotated thereby.

Thedouble beveled feed gear II is annular in shape and surrounds the carrier member 6, but is made rotatable with respect thereto by means of a supporting roller bearing I6. This is kept in position by means of lock nuts I1 and I8, as shown in Fig. 3. The disc |19' lies adjacent to the lock nut I8 and both are provided with cooperating chambers containing tubular members, such as 2e, which serve as guides for springs 20. The tubes 20 also cause the disc I9 to rotate with the carrier 6. The springs 20' press the disc I9 against the annular disc 2I which effects a seal at this point to prevent the escape of an excess of oil or other lubricant from the gear case just above it.

'Ihe carrier 6 is provided at each of its ends with thrust plates, such as 22, which extend longitudinally thereof. These plates ar four in number at each end of the carrier 6, and lie against the four sides of the rack shaft 1 to serve as a slideab-le bearing therefor. The thrust plates have splines inserted in ways cut in the carrier 6, and are retained by a cage such as 23, which holds them in position.

Each end of the carrier 6 is threaded for the reception of a collar. Onlythe collar 24 for the lower end of the carrier is illustrated. The similar collar for the upper end of the carrier 6 is omitted in order to better show the thread. The collar 24 is preferably split and, after being properly positioned, may be clamped to the carrier by means of a bolt 25 to hold the collar securely in place.

The rack shaft 'I is provided with an auger 26 secured to its lower end by means of the pin 21. The auger is provided with auger blade supports stantially in the form shown in Fig. 3. A trap Aor gate 29 may or may support as desired. Only not be hinged to each one of these is shown.

' These traps or gates 29 are pivotally mounted on the auger so that when the latter bores into the The casing I5 in which these: pinion gears are enclosed is carried by a circular-Y plate I4 on the underside of which the annularI Reducing gearing The auxiliary casing I3 shown in Figs. 3 and 4, is attached to the housing 5. The beveled pinion gears 33 and 34 are in mesh with the lower side of the feed gear ll and with the drive gear l2, respectively. A solid shaft 33 extends from the pinion 33 into the auxiliary casing I3 and terminates in a beveled gear 35 which is made rotatable with respect to the casing i3 by means of a ball bearing 35s. A sleeve 34 surrounds the solid shaft 33 and extends from the pinion 34 to a beveled gear 35 which rotates with respect to the gear 35 by means of a ball bearing 35a. The end of the shaft 34 adjacent the gear 34 is mounted in a ball bearing 34a so as to be rotatable with respect to the auxiliary casing I3. A roller bearing 33u is interposed between the solid-shaft 33 and the tubular shaft 34 so that the two shafts may readily rotate with respect to each other,

The pinions 53 and 34 and the gears 35 and 55, with their respective shafts and bearings, form an intermediate reduction unit to determine the rela* tive speeds at which the feed gear l l and the drive gear l2 may be driven. To this end the beveled gears 55 and 36 are, as shown in Fig. 5, in mesh with pinions 31 and 38, respectively, and mounted on concentric shafts 31 and 35. In order to house the rgears 31 and 38 and their respective concentric shafts, the auxiliary casing i3 is provided with a right-angular branch i3 as shown in Fig. 5, and suitable bearings are mounted therein, as shown to permit of the relative rotation of the shafts 31 and 38.

Clutch and brake mechanism To the right-angular branch casing I3' another tubular 4casing 39 is attached as shown in Fig, 5. The opposite end of the tubular casing 35 terminates in an enlarged flanged structure 4E. This is bolted to a cylindrical housing 4i within which suitable clutch and brake mechanism is mounted, as shown in Figs. 8, 9 and l0.

This mechanism includes a feed clutch 42 associated with the end of the shaft 38 and a drive clutch 43 associated with the end of the shaft 3l. The clutches 42 and 43 each consist of a series of plates or discs of well-known type. Certain discs of clutch 42 slide alternately on keys or splines forming a part of drum 45 and similarly, discs of clutch 53 slide on splines of drum 45. These splines are best shown in Figs. 9 and 10 particularly. The drum 45 is keyed to the shaft 38 and the drum 45' is keyed to the end of the shaft 31. Others of the plates of the clutches 42 and 43, respectively, slide on splines (not shown) at opposite ends of a tubular gear 44 as shown in Fig. 8. When the plates of the clutch 42 are pressed or clamped together the gear 44 will cause rotation of the drum 45 and the shaft 33'. Similarly, when the plates of the clutch 43 are pressed together the gear d4 will cause rotation of the drum 45' and the inner shaft 31.

In addition to the clutches 42 and 43 which serve as feed and drive clutches, respectively, a feed brake 42 and a drive brake 43 are provided.

These brakes are similar in structure to the clutches and each consists of a plurality of annular plates or discs, part of which are slideable upon splines on the drums 45 and 45', respectively, and the others of which are slideable upon keys carried by annular collars 42 and 43", respectively, mounted within the casing 4|. When the discs of the feed brake 42' are pressed together a braking action is exerted upon the drum 45 and the shaft 38. Similarlyy when the discs of the drive brake 43 are pressed together a braking action is exerted upon the drum 45 and the inner shaft 31.

A clutch throw collar 49, as shown in Figs. 8, 9 and 10, is arranged between the flanges of a grooved ring 49 interposed between the plates of feed clutch 42 carried by the drum 45 and the feed brake plates 42 carried by said drum. A bronze ring is provided on either side of the clutch throw collar 45 and the flanges of the grooved ring to take up the thrust of the brake. Similarly, a clutch throw collar 5i) is arranged between the flanges of a grooved ring 5U', which is interposed between the plates of the drive clutch 43 and the drive brake 43. When the feed clutch throw collar It@ is moved upwardly, as in Fig. 8, the feed clutch a?. is actuated, but when the collar 9,5 is moved in the opposite direction the feed brake 42 is applied. Similarly, when the drive clutch throw collar 55 is moved downwardly, as in Fig. 8, the clutch 43 is actuated, and when said collar is moved upwardly the drive brake 43 is applied.

The gear 4L.- within whose opposite end the clutches .2 and 43 are mounted, as shown in Fig. 8, is driven by a gear 4G which in turn is driven by a pinion gear (il, This latter derives its power from an engine carried by a motor truck or other source of power connected to a propeller shaft 43. The clutch throw collar 49 is moved by clutch throw cams 5l and 5l', as shown particularly in Fig, l0, to compress the clutch plates 42 and so transmit power from the shaft 48 to the shaft 38'. Similarly, the clutch throw collar 5E! is moved by cams 5?. and 52', as shown in Fig. 9, to compress the clutch plates i3 and transmit power from the shaft 4% to the shaft 3T.

In order to operate the including a pair of arms member 55 is connected to the cams 5| and 5l', respectively, as shown in Fig. 10. Similarly, the cams 52 and 52 in Fig. 9, are operated by a yoke including arms 54 and 54 which are connected together through a cross-member 56. Clutch push rods 51' and 5S are connected to the centers of the `cross-members 55 and 56, respectively. Edualizing springs 59 and 59 are mounted on the rod 51', and similar springs 60 and 66' are mounted on the rod 58', as shown in Figs. 2 and 8. These springs enable operating pressures from the rods 51 and 58 to be gradually applied to the yokes 55 and 55, respectively, to operate the clutches or brakes as the case may be.

As previously pointed out, the feed clutch push rod 51 is attached at its opposite end through a bifurcated link 51 to a lever arm 6l mounted upon the casing 39, as shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 1. Similarly, the drive clutch push rod 58 is connected through a telescoping arrangement shown at 83 in Fig. ll to a. bifurcated link 58 which is connected to a lever arm 52 pivotally mounted upon the casing 39, as shown in Figs. 5, 6 and '1. Hand-operated levers B5 and 66 are fixedly mounted upon the lever arms 6| and 62, respectively, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6 particularly.

cams 5l and 5l', a yoke 53 and 53 and a cross- Earth boring operations By .pulling the feed lever 65 toward the operator (that is, to the right in Figs. 1 and 2) the rod 51 will actuate th'e feed clutch 4'2 through cams 5I and 5I' of Fig. l0. By pushing the lever in the Opposite direction the feed brake 42 will be applied. Similarly, if the operator pulls the drive lever 65 to the right in Figs. 1 and 2, the rod 58' will be pulled to the right, and through the cams 52 and 52' of Fig. 9 will actuate the drive clutch 43. When th'e drive lever 66 is moved inthe opposite direction the brake 43' will be applied.

The operator in order to dig a hole may, by pushing the drive lever 66 away from him (to the left in Fig. l) and pulling the feed lever 65 toward him, actuate the drive clutch 43 and apply the feed brake 42', respectively. The feed brake 42', acting through the sh'aft 38', gears 38 and 36, shaft 33' and gear 33, holds the feed gear II in Fig. 3 fromrotating. The drive clutch 43 upon being actuated, however, causes the Shaft 31 to rotate and, acting through gears 31 and 35 and through shaft 34', causes the gear 34 to rotate th'e drive gear I2 and the carrier 6 in the direction indicated by the looped arrow e in Fig. 12. The rotation of the carrier 6 turns with it the shaft I and the auger 26. The rotation of the drive gear I2 at full speed, while the feed gear II is held stationary, causes the beveled gear Iii to rotate rapidly. Through the pinion gears I' and S, the pinion gear 9' is thus rotated rapidly in such a direction as to move the shaft 'I downwardly at high speed.

When the auger 26 approaches the surface of the earth the operator may desire to move the auger downwardly at a slower speed. To accomplish this the operator while still pushing the drive lever 66 away from him (that is, to the right in Figs. 1 and 2) will also push the feed lever 65 away from him, thus releasing the feed brake 42 in Fig. 8 and actuating the feed clutch 42. Power is now transmitted through gear 44 and through' the feed clutch 42 to the shaft 38', and thence through gears 33 and 36, and through shaft 33 and gear 33, to rotate the feed gear II in the direction of the looped arrow d as shown in Fig. 12.

We now have both the feed gear II and drive gear I2 rotating in the same direction. As was pointed out earlier, the ratios of the various gears are such' that under the condition where both gears II and I2 are rotating at full speed the drive gear I2 will rotate slightly faster than the gear I I. This will cause the train of gears I0, i 0', 9 and 9 to rotate in the same direction as described before, but relatively slowly. Consequently, the pinion 9' operating on the rack of the shaft 'I moves the shaft 'I downwardly at a slower rate than before. We now have the shaft 'I turning rapidly but moving downward slowly, which is a normal earth boring condition.

After the operator has driven the auger into the earth a certain distance, he will want to remove the excavated material. To do this the auger 26 should rst be elevated rapidly without turning until it comes above the level of the ground, after which it should stop rising and sh'ould rotate rapidly to throw oif the dirt.

To accomplish these results the operator will rst shift the drive lever S to braking position, thus applying the drive brake 43', and at the same time he will hold the feed lever 65 in its clutch-actuating position to continue actuating the feed clutch 42. The application of the drive brake 43 causes shaft 31', and hence the drive gear I 2, to cease rotating. The feed clutch 42 being still applied, causes the shaft 38' to continue rotating and this, acting through the train of gearing previously described, causes the gear 33 to rotate the feed gear II in the direction indicated by the looped arrow d in Fig. l2.

We now have the drive gear l2 stationary and the gear II rotating so that the beveled gear I will be driven in the opposite direction to that before described. The beveled gear I0 acting through the pinions I0 and 9 causes the pinion 9 to turn at full speed in the opposite direction from that indicated by the arrow in Fig. 12. This causes the shaft 'I to rise rapidly without rotating.

When the shaft 'l' has been elevated to the desired position the operator will leave the feed lever 65 in its clutch-actuating position to actuate the feed clutch 42 and will move the drive lever 66 to its clutch-actuating position. This releases the drive brake 43' and actuates the drive clutch 43. Under these conditions, as previously described, both feed gear I I and drive gear l 2 are rotated (the former at slightly slower speed) so that the shaft 'l is moved slowly downward and at the same time is rapidly rotated by the turning of the drive gear I2. This throws off the accumulated dirt after which the operations previously described for rapidly lowering the auger 26 and then causing it to be lowered more slowly and at the same time turned, will be repeated.

Automatic safety mechanism A difficulty encountered with earth boring machines of the type so far described is that when the operator raises the auger rapidly by pushing the feed lever 65 in Figs. 1 and 2 to the right and pulling the drive lever 66 to the left, he sometimes fails to stop the upward movement of the shaft in time. The result is that the auger 26 drives the disc or washer B'l up against the collar 24 and fully compresses the spring 32 before operating the drive lever 68 to its righthand or clutch-actuating position to stop the elevation of the auger. In the past, this action might, if the operator were not careful, result in breaking the second reduction gear 33 or its shaft 33. This is because when this particular condition occurs, the drive 'gear I2 is stationary while the feed gear lI is being rotated by means of the feed shaft 33 and the second reduction pinion gear 33. Therefore, when the shaft 'I is suddenly brought to a full stop with power applied through the shaft 33 to the second reduction gear 33, an opposite force is at the same time applied by the shaft 'I to gear 33 through the gears 9', 9, Ill', Ill and feed gear II. As the force of the engine and the inertia of the parts tend to continue to drive the gears and the feed shafts, after the bumping of the auger against the case has prevented further gear turning, a breakage sometimes occurs.

That such breakages would occur with irnproper operation, can readily be seen from the fact that even at an engine speed of only 1,000 revolutions per minute the auger will rise at the rate of about ft. a minute. At higher engine speeds the* auger will rise at a correspondingly greater rate unless, of course, the clutches in the earth boring machine are slipped. A speed of even 140 ft. a minute requires quick action upon the lever by the operator in order to stop the upward movement of the auger after it leaves the ground and before it bumps the collar 24 at the bottom of the boring head. This quick action is entirely practicable with experienced operators, but new operators or careless operators occasionally do not synchronize their motions quickly enough to prevent trouble.

In order to prevent the above trouble, a safety device is herein provided to automatically stop the upward travel of the auger and start it spinning to throw oif the dirt. This automatic safety device is so arranged that when it operates, the drive brake 43' is released and the drive clutch 43 is quickly actuated. As the feed clutch is already actuated, the auger is not only caused to spin and throw off the dirt, but also to start moving slowly in a downward direction. This eliminates the possibility of bumping the bottom of the boring head and causing the gear or shaft breakage trouble.

In order to accomplish this result, as the auger rises the disc or plate 61 is caused to engage levers 68 and 68. As shownin Figs. 1, 2 and 3, these levers are mounted upon a common shaft 10' in such manner that they move together. The shaft 10 is carried by a bracket 18 which is bolted to a part of the housing as shown more clearly in Fig. 3. Also fixed upon the shaft 18', and preferably forming an integral part of the lever 68, is an operating arm 69 (see Figs. 1, 2 and 3) This arm 69 is connected by a bifurcated link 1i to a rod 12 which passes through a sleeve 13, as shown more clearly in Fig. 1l. The sleeve 13 is attached by a bracket to housing 5 and is part of a flexible remote Control cable 12, 13, 14, 15, 11 of well-known type, which enables the rod 12 to pull or push a flexible wire back and forth through the tubular part of the cable 14 to operate rod 11. Rod 11 moves within sleeve 15 which is attached by means of a bracket 16 to the outer casing 83 of the telescoping arrangement shown in Fig. 11. The sleeve 13 within which the rod 12 is guided, is affixed by means of a bracket 13 to the housing 5 as shown in Fig. 2. Another bracket 14 attached to said housing is also used to limit the amount of movement of iiexible shaft 14 as shown in Fig. l.

The rod 11 at the distant end of the flexible cable 14 is attached by means of a bifurcated link 18 to a trigger 19 pivoted at 80 within a slot extending transversely through the sleeve 83 of the telescoping arrangement. This telescoping arrangement includes a rod 8l connected by means of the lbifurcated link 58 to the drive lever arm 62. At its other end rod 8l is connected through a collar 82 to one end of the outer sleeve 83 of the telescopic device.

The opposite end of the sleeve 83 is closed by means of a collar 84 within which an inner sleeve 85 of the telescoping arrangement is permitted to slide. One end of the inner sleeve 85 is connected by the drive rod 58 to the yoke operating the drive clutch and drive brake as shown particularly in Figs. 8 and 9. The other end of the inner sleeve 85 is closed by means of a plug 89 having a beveled end arranged to cci-operate with the trigger 19 in a manner to be later described. A collar 81 surrounds the sleeve 85 near the end containing the terminal plug 89. Between said collar and the collar 84 at the opposite end ot the outer sleeve 83 a heavy compressed spring 85 is inserted.

With the parts in the position shown in Fig. 11, the spring 86 is under compression and the plug end 89 of the sleeve 85 is held in position against the pressure of this spring by means of the trigger 19, The trigger 19 is in turn held in the position shown in Fig. 1l by means of a coiled tension spring 8D attached to one end of the outer sleeve 83. If, therefore, the trigger 18 is moved in a clockwise direction by means of the remote control cable 14, it will release the beveled end 89 of the inner sleeve 35, so that the latter will be moved to the right within the outer sleeve 83 under the pressure of the spring 88. This, in effect, telescopes the connection between the drive lever 66, shown in Fig. 5, and the drive clutch and drive brake mechanism shown in Fig. 8.

Operation, of safety mechanism With this arrangement, when the operator throws the drive lever 66, in Figs. l and 2, to the left to apply the drive brake 43' and at the same time moves the feed lever B5 to the right to actuate the feed clutch 42. the auger commences to rise rapidly without turning. As soon as the auger rises to such a position that the plate or washer 61 carried by the shaft 1 engages the levers 68 and 68', said levers will be moved upwardly toward the collar 24. This action moves the arm G9 and thus pulls on the remote control cable.

When the washer 61 has risen about one'third of its travel, the remote control cable pulls the trigger 1S in Fig. l1, and thus releases the beveled end 88 of the inner sleeve 85 of the telescoping arrangement. The inner sleeve is now moved to the right within the outer sleeve 83 under the pressure of the heavy compression spring 85 and thus, in eifect, the two members telescope together. This action pulls the rod 58 in Fig. 1l to the right and thus operates the drive yoke Sil- 54' in Fig. 8 to release the drive brake 43 and actuate the drive clutch 43. As the feed lever S5 is already in such position that the feed clutch 42 is actuated, we have both the feed gear Il and drive gear I2 of Fig. 3 rotating in the same direction. This, as previously de scribed, causes the auger to rotate rapidly to throw on the dirt and at the same time to move slowly downward.

The foregoing actions, therefore, normally stop the upward travel of the auger before it strikes the boring head. It should be noted that the lower part of the collar 24 on the bottom of the boring head is recessed slightly as shown at Therefore, if the arrangement above described should fail to function for any reason, the levers E58 and 6B will be moved upwardly within this recess when the washer 61 bumps against the bottom of the collar 28. Consequently, the rclease levers E8 and 68 will not be damaged.

It will also be observed that an adjustable set screw 9| is provided on the drive lever 66 (sce Figs. 5 and 6) and a stop lug 92 is formed on the casing 39. When the telescoping action above described takes place, the set screw 9i is pulled up against the stop lug 92. Consequently, the movement of the inner sleeve 85 of the telescoping device shown in Fig. 11, due to the expansion of the spring 36, will cause rod 53 to operate` the drive clutch 43.

It will be evident that if, after the above automatic action takes place, the operator pushes the drive lever 66 to its clutch actuating position, the connection between the drive lever 65 and the drive clutch operating mechanism in Fig. 8 will be, in efiect, lengthened. This is because, when the sleeves 83 and 35 are in telescopic position, a movement of the sleeve 83 to the right in Fig. ll. carries the trigger 19 with it. while the beveled head 89 of the sleeve 85 remains stationary. As soon as the sleeve 83 has been moved a suitable distance to the right, the trigger 'I9 will snap behind the head 89 due to the force of the coiled spring 9U, so that the parts again assume the position shown in Fig. 11. Thereafter the earth boring machine may be operated in the usual manner to raise, lower or revolve the auger, until such time as the auger again raises high enough to again trip the safety device.

It will be evident that the operator may use the automatic safety device above described, to automatically stop the upward travel of the auger and cause it to rotate to discharge the dirt without any further action on his part. However, if he prefers, he may operate the control levers manually to stop the upward movement of the auger and cause it to rotate, as has been the practice with earth boring machines notl equipped with the automatic release device. In such case, the safety device merely acts to safeguard the machine against darnage, whereas in the former case the auger rotates to discharge dirt automatically.

While this invention has been disclosed in certain specific arrangements which are deemed desirable, it will be obvious that the general principles herein set forth may be embodied in many other organizations, widely different from those illustrated, Without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In an earth boring machine, an auger, a boring head having a casing, a drive gear in said casing operating when rotated to rotate said auger, a feed gear in said casing rotatable in the same direction as said drive gear and adapted to feed said auger up or down depending upon its speed relative to said drive gear, whereby said auger :may be elevated or lowered, independent manually operable levers and actuating links for each of said gears to cause either or both of them to rotate at desired speeds, one of said links having means to in effect adjust its length so that it may affect the action of the corresponding gear independently o-f its manual lever, and means automatically operable when said auger is elevated to a certain height to produce a change in the eifective length of said adjustable link in a direction to defeat manual control by the operator tendi-ng toward further elevation of said auger and to cause a relative action of said gears, such as to reverse the direction of travel of said auger before it bumps the bottom of said boring head casing.

2. In an earth boring machine, an auger, a boring head having a casing, a drive gear in said casing operating when rotated to rotate said auger, a feed gear in said casing rotatable in the same direction as said drive gear and adapted to feed said auger up or down depending upon its speed relative to said drive gear, whereby said auger may be elevated or lowered, independent manually operable levers and actuating links for each of said gears to cause either or both of them to rotate at desired speeds, one of said links having means to in effect adjust its length so that it may affect the action of the corresponding gear independently of its manual lever, and means automatically operable when said auger is elevated to a certain height to produce a change in the effective length of said adjustable links in a direction to defeat manual control by the operator tending toward further elevation of said auger and to cause a relative action of said gears such that said auger will start rotating to throw off accumulated dirt without bumping the bottom of the boring head.

3. In an earth boring machine, an auger, a boring head having a casing, a drive gear in said casing operating when rotated to rotate said auger, a feed gear in said casing rotatable in the same direction as said drive gear and adapted to feed said auger up or down depending upon its speed relative to said drive gear, whereby said auger may be elevated or lowered, independent manually operable levers and actuating links for each of said gears to cause either or both of them to rotate at desired speeds, one of said links having means to in effect adjust its length so that it may affect the action of the corresponding gear independently of its manual lever, and means automatically operable when said auger is elevated to a certain height to produce a change in the effective length of said adjustable link in a direction to defeat manual control by the operator tending toward further elevation of said auger and to cause a relative action of said gears such as to stop the elevation of said auger and cause it to start rotating to throw off accumulated dirt without bumping the bottom of said boring head casing.

4. In an earth boring machine, an auger, a boring head having a casing, a drive gear in said casing operating when rotated to rotate said auger, a feed gear in said casing rotatable in the same direction as said drive gear and adapted to feed said auger up or down depending upon its speed relative to said drive gear, whereby said auger may be elevated or lowered, independent manually operable levers and actuating links for each of said gears to cause either or both of them torotate at desired speeds, one of said links havi-ng means to in effect adjust its length so that it may affect the action of the corresponding gear independently of its manual lever, and means automatically operable when said auger is elevated to a certain height to produce a change in the effective length of said adjustable link in a direction to defeat manual control by the operator tending toward further elevation of said auger and to cause a relative action of said gears such that said auger will rotate to throw off accumulated dirt and be slowly lowered Without bumping the bottom of the boring head.

TEMPLE C. SMITH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the iile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,540,682 Dreher et al s June 2, 1925 1,887,172 Smith Vet al. Nov. 8, 1932 

